Stealing Scorpius Malfoy
by happyendings55
Summary: Annabel Wood was the only child of Oliver and Reyna Wood.  She was a Gryffindor, Keeper on the House Team, and had the biggest crush on Scorpius Malfoy.  Her best friend, Liam, is about to make her dream a realty with one small dare.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: Back to Hogwarts**

_**Part One: Horrendous Public Breakup in the Great Hall**_

"You did what?" Scorpius Malfoy yelled at Rose Weasley in the middle of the Great Hall. I noshed on some crisps while watching. It was fascinating to see the star couple of Hogwarts for the last couple of years have an open row.

"Bel, you're staring!" My best friend, Liam Finnegan, growled at me.

"What? The great couple of Hogwarts is about to fall. How can I not stare?" I asked as I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Real mature," he replied in his condescending tone that was specifically reserved for me.

"Shush! I'm missing what she did!" I demanded as I went back to the show happening between the Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables.

"I told you Scorpius, you're an emotional void. I did something to act out to see that you actually fucking care!" Rose shouted at him from among her Ravenclaw mates.

Scorpius took a step toward her with his wand, "Rose, arguing with me is acting out. Sleeping with Richard Macmillan is just being a selfish bint!"

"Oooh," I whispered. This was getting good. I couldn't believe she had cheated on him. I mean really the boy was phenomenal looking.

"Bel, stop watching," Liam commanded.

"Liam, everyone and their professor is watching this. Why can't I?" I asked in a haughty tone since I pointed out Professor Longbottom staring with interest at the fight. Liam just shook his head and gave up on me. It wasn't his fault that he wasn't interested. Neither Rose Weasley nor Scorpius Malfoy was his type and he just wasn't the gossiping kind of person.

WHAM! The Great Hall doors had slammed behind Scorpius as he just left Rose staring behind him. I frowned at having to see him go. I would have preferred her highness to have been the one to leave.

"Hey Liam and Annabel," Al Potter greeted as he sat down at the table. We've been in the same house for six years and on the same Quidditch team for four and he still called me by my full name. You would think someone who would want to be known as Al instead of Albus would respect that I wanted to be called Bel instead of Annabel.

"Hi Al!" Liam said happily. He was glad there was a distraction from my drooling over Scorpius Malfoy. I fancied him, so sue me. Scorpius Malfoy had been a distant crush since my third year. Unfortunately, he and Rose started dating at the end of that same year. Bloody bad luck for me. I mean it would have been real bad luck if Scorpius knew me as something other than the Gryffindor Keeper.

"Hey Wood! Are you ready for Quidditch practices to start up?" James, Al's older brother and the Quidditch captain of Gryffindor, asked me as he sat down across the way.

"Of course I am," I said with excitement. This year was James' last year and we were going to win the cup if it killed us. Ravenclaw had it last year and Slytherin the year before that. James couldn't believe how he had brought the team to victory his second, third, and fourth years only to lose it the last two.

"Good, because we're going to do more practices this year," he said with authority and I just shook my head. Of course we were going to practice more; James Potter believed that we were shite since we lost two years in a row. The last time I saw a Quidditch victory I was thirteen.

"Well we may have the edge over Slytherin this year," Al started, "Rosie just broke up with Malfoy."

"Did she really?" James asked excitedly. He was never a fan of Rose's relationship with Scorpius. I mean James Potter wasn't my best mate the way Liam was, but we did talk a fare bit being teammates and all, so I knew how much he didn't like the whole thing.

"Yes, you just missed the horrendous public break up," Liam chimed as he shot me a look. He was the only Gryffindor in the world that knew about my crush for Scorpius Malfoy and I would like to keep it that way. I didn't want to lose my friends. James would disown me and kick me from the team in a heartbeat. Not to mention my dad would tell me to never return home. I mean he never had an outright arch nemesis thing going on with Draco Malfoy, Scorpius' father, when they were kids, but he still hated the bloke.

Liam and I joined James and Al for the walk back to Gryffindor Tower. The topic of conversation had changed from Scorpius and Rose's break-up to what our Quidditch strategy for this season was going to be.

"I think we need to be fluid," James said thoughtfully. We all looked at him confused. What did he mean?

"What?" Al asked what we were thinking.

"We don't fly like we have one mind. We've become a disconnected team since our last Quidditch cup victory. None of us thinks the same as one another," he explained. When I thought about it, he was right. We didn't ever think as a whole. I never knew who was ready for me to pass to them when I just caught the Quaffle from a blocked goal.

"Yes, but how are we going to get that?" Quinlan McLaggen asked as he joined us. Quinlan was James' best mate. He was also one of our three Chasers. Lily and James Potter were the other two.

We had arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Obliviate," Liam said and the portrait swung open to reveal the Common Room. We all climbed through and thought about what James was saying. I thought about something that may help us.

"James, I have an idea," I said to him.

"Okay Wood, let's hear it," James said with his eyebrows raised. I couldn't tell if it was because he thought my idea was going to be rubbish or because he was actually interested.

"We need to practice without being able to see," I told him, "That way we have to think like one another." He stared at me for a moment.

"Wood, you're brilliant!"

I actually didn't think he would go for that because flying and not being able to see would be challenging. I watched as Al's jaw dropped. I'm sure he was thinking about how he had to find the damn Snitch with his eyes closed.

"You've got to be bloody mad to think that we're going to practice without being able to see!" Al protested his older brother. I could tell by the smile on our fearless leader's face that he was thinking exactly that.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Part Two: Blind as Bats and Flying Too<strong>_

This was the first time in my life that I had ever been afraid of flying. I was wondering what in Merlin's name I had been thinking when I suggested this.

"Bel, what in Merlin's name were you thinking when you suggested this?" Liam echoed my thoughts. I giggled. "This is not funny! I have to protect your precious arse from a Bludger while not being able to see." When he put it that way I was truly regretting James had even agreed with me.

"Oh look what we have here mates. The Gryffindors want to further their embarrassment by having an excuse to fly like a bunch of house elves on brooms."

I couldn't see but I knew that voice belonged to Brannon Flint, git extraordinaire. He was just shy of a year younger than me and he acted as if he was a seventh year. He wasn't even his team's captain. No, that privilege was Scorpius' and Scorpius' alone.

"Bugger off Flint!" I heard James yell down at the younger boy. I thought that was weird because James had a hard time telling who was speaking when he could see the person. Maybe losing one of your senses really did heighten the others.

"Flint! I told you that we were not to come out during the Gryffindors' practice."

I immediately knew the owner of the second voice. It was a voice that haunted my dreams for the last two years. Scorpius was yelling at his teammate for doing the dishonorable thing, which wasn't uncommon for a Slytherin. It was especially not uncommon for one as slimy as Flint.

"Bloody Slytherin. Wankers the whole lot of them," I heard Liam mumble and Lily voiced her agreement.

Not long after the Slytherins left, we were up in the air blind as bats and flying too.

"Merlin's pants! This is working!" Quinlan shouted as I heard him catch the Quaffle. Honestly I was just as surprised as everyone else that it was successful.

When we were back on the ground with full vision, James spoke, "Well mates, it seems Wood here knew how to put us back together. From now on we'll do three practices a week and one of them will be without vision. This way we'll gain the ability to think like a team."

Everyone told me how they thought I was brilliant. After that we walked back to the Great Hall to eat dinner.

"So, did you know who our second Slytherin visitor was even though you couldn't see?" Liam asked teasingly. I rolled my eyes at him. He could make fun of me for fancying Scorpius Malfoy all he wanted but it wouldn't change anything.

_I ducked behind my text book hoping that the group outside my train compartment wouldn't notice I was in here. It was Reinald and Pierre Higgs with their lackeys. I called them the Torture Twins. They had been tormenting me for two years, since I was eleven. However, the problems became worse when I became Gryffindor's Keeper and we won our first match against Slytherin._

"_Well what do we have here?" Pierre asked his brother. Reinald looked at me._

"_I believe we have Gryffindor's little Keeper all alone in a train compartment. She must be excited that she gets to go home and tell her family over the holidays that she helped beat the Slytherins at her first match," Reinald said aloud and his cronies laughed. It was an odd gang. Reinald and Pierre were friends with Keith Boot, Cornelius Smith, and Astrid Preece. These other kids were in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. My father had always told me that Slytherins were barely friends with anyone outside of Slytherin and it would never be with someone from Hufflepuff or Gryffindor. However, here they were the bullies of the school and they were from every house but my own. I tried to seem like I wasn't scared. I knew I was. These kids were two years older than me and I knew the types of hexes and things they did._

"_For a Gryffindor, she is fit," Keith chimed in with his comrades. Reinald smiled._

"_Yes, she is," he said as he removed his wand from his robes._

_Someone rushed into the compartment from behind the lot of them at that moment. In an out of breath voice he asked, "Is this seat taken?" He gestured to the seat across from me in the compartment and I shook my head. I recognized him as Scorpius Malfoy. My father didn't like his father very much. After the Second War, Draco Malfoy's family name had been drug through the mud, but he had grown up to put it back into power. He now owned sixteen wizarding companies and fourteen Muggle ones. He had great relations with his Muggle employees and was a respectable man that no one would dare cross. Harry Potter, the saviour of our world, had helped restore him to that glory. Now no one would mess with the Malfoys just as much as they wouldn't mess with the Weasley-Potter clan._

"_Oh, were you lot looking to take this seat?" He asked them with a smirk._

"_Of course not, Malfoy," Pierre answered in a rather dejected tone. I assumed it was because his fun with me had been ruined. Scorpius watched as they left._

"_Thanks," I muttered._

"_Don't worry about it. I heard that they were looking for you and I knew the type of bollocks they would try to pull. As long as I spend the rest of the ride with you, you'll be fine," he said to me. Since all my friends were already at home or staying at the castle, I told him I would be glad to have him share the compartment with me. We sat there like that in silence. It was in that moment that I developed a very strong crush on Scorpius Malfoy._

"Bel?" Liam asked me and I was pulled from my memory.

"What?"

"Were you even listening to me?"

I shook my head. I wasn't listening to him and I wouldn't lie and say I was.

"Next week we have no classes on Tuesday! Merlin how I love the saviours of our world," Liam repeated his sentence to me. I looked at him confused. What was he on about?

"What are you on about?" I asked.

"Next Tuesday is September nineteenth. You know? Hermione Granger-Weasley Day, we're planning a Common Room party Monday night," he told me with a heightening sense of excitement in his voice. Liam never could resist throwing a Common Room party. Every Saviour's holiday was turned into a Common Room party affair with Liam. He'd been doing this for three years. It was how he became so popular with the older kids.

"Mate, it could be just another Tuesday and you would plan a Common Room party," I said to him with a grin.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Part Three: Best Mates Drink Together<strong>_

"Thank Merlin for HARRY POTTER! Thank Merlin for THE WEASLEYS!" Liam shouted his toast to the Common Room. The lot of Weasley-Potters shouted the loudest for their parents. Everyone then did shots of Firewhiskey. Liam came down from the table and let the partygoers continue doing whatever it was they were doing before he interrupted. Liam and I walked back over to James, who was starting a game of Truth or Dare. This always was a bad idea when we were mullered. We still did it anyway. The Gryffindor Quidditch team was notorious for bad ideas during their games.

The bottle spun vigorously on the floor. It stopped with the neck pointed at me. I looked at Liam. It was going to have to be Dare because he knew all my truths.

"What'll it be Bel?" He asked as if he didn't know. The whole team loved when we landed on each other because our best dares came from it.

"Dare," I answered reluctantly. He winked slyly.

"I dare you to go down into the dungeons tomorrow after breakfast and snog the first Slytherin you see," he challenged. I glared at him. He was trying to do something sneaky.

"Ooh that was a good one Liam," Morgan Thomas slurred. She would like the dare because usually it was her handing out snogging sentences.

"Wait, any Slytherin or just Slytherin blokes?" Lily asked for confirmation. I'm glad she did because if I ran into Isabelle Nott I was going to take the 'out.'

"Slytherin blokes. I wouldn't wish Nott on even the slimiest gits," Liam answered. I sighed in relief for at least that much consideration.

"I hate when we drink and do this shite," I said to him.

"Love, you enjoy it. Best mates drink together," Liam countered with a smirk.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Another Week at Hogwarts**

_**Part One: What's a Gryffindor Like You, Doing in a Place Like This?**_

"Why did you go with a snogging dare? That's not like you," I asked Liam at breakfast.

"It just felt like something to do instead of the usual," he answered with a grin. I knew him better than that. He was up to something and I was going to be the punch line.

"Wood! Quidditch pitch tonight!" James shouted from his end of the Gryffindor table. I nodded at him to let him know I'd be there. We were going to be practicing without being able to see again.

The golden plates before me filled with porridge, bacon, eggs, and other food. I wasn't sure I was hungry, knowing I had to go kiss someone in the dungeons, but I needed to eat to buy me some time.

I was reluctant for breakfast to end because that meant I had to go kiss some unsuspecting Slytherin chap. Before I knew it, I had finished everything on my plate.

"You ready to go find your slithery prince?" Liam taunted and I wanted to smack him.

"Shove off," I said to him before walking toward the doors. The Great Hall seemed full so maybe I would get lucky and not find someone roaming up to breakfast from the dungeons this late.

The dungeons were the coldest place in the castle. I always wished I were wearing an extra jumper down here. I walked the winding corridors only to be alone. It was refreshing to think Liam's dare was wasted. I couldn't understand why he did that. He'd never picked snogging dares before this. Footsteps caught my attention. They were soft and graceful. It was like the person made each step as part of a dance. The person was about six feet in front of me when I finally heard them speak.

"What's a Gryffindor like you doing in a place like this?" My company asked and I knew that voice. I knew it was Scorpius Malfoy before he stepped into the torchlight in front of me. He had a smirk on his face and I could hear the Malfoy charm in his voice. Merlin's beard! I had to complete my childish dare with him? Life was not fair. He stared at me expecting an answer. So I did what I had to do. I ran my hands up into his hair and pulled his face to mine.

His lips were soft. They were still at first. It must have been from shock because after thirty seconds he was kissing me back. He grabbed my hips and pulled me against him. I took a step back in an attempt to lessen my humiliation, but he stepped with me. I ended up with my back against a wall. His hands left my hips and wandered to other places. If heaven were a real place like the Muggles believed, then this was definitely it.

At least ten minutes later we broke away from one another. My hair was falling out of the bun it was in while his looked like he had just woken from a rough sleep.

"Well that was interesting," he remarked, "Do all Gryffindor girls do that when asked why they're somewhere?"

I let out an uncomfortable laugh, "No, I was dared to snog the first Slytherin bloke I ran into down here. I didn't know it would be y…I mean that I didn't know it would be like this." I felt so stupid. I reminded myself to hex Liam with something that took twenty-four hours to go away when I got back to the common room.

He nodded his head with confusion and ran his hand through his hair. I wondered what possessed him to kiss me back. He had just broken up with the precious Rose Weasley. Compared to her, I was a mountain troll. Rose was tall, slender, had curly auburn hair, and bright blue eyes. I was just barely over five-foot, a weird mixture of curvy and muscular, had dull, straight dark brown hair and dark green eyes.

"Well I should probably head up to the Great Hall. I have a free period this morning and need to get some breakfast," he mumbled to me. I nodded awkwardly. He stepped past me in the corridor and headed up the stairs to the Great Hall.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Part Two: When Did I Turn into Baked Goods?<strong>_

It had been three days since I snogged Scorpius in the dungeons, and even though it was a bloody brilliant memory, it was just that-a memory.

"Why are you looking so somber?" Liam asked when he joined me at dinner. I glared at him. How could he have put me up to that snogging dare, find out I ended up snogging the very person I have wanted to kiss since third year, and then ask me why I was so upset when I hadn't even so much as talked to the bloke in question since the incident?

"I wonder why I'm so somber," I snapped at him before getting up from dinner. I wasn't hungry anyway. I had gotten to the staircases before I realized someone was behind me. "Liam, just go away for right now."

"It's not Liam," I heard Quinlan's voice. I whipped around to look at my teammate. He was grinning at me.

"Why on Earth are you grinning at me like that?" I asked him. It was unnerving to have him staring at me like I was a biscuit he was about to get to eat.

"Nothing, I just wanted to ask you if you would like to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?"

"Um, Quinlan, I am going to Hogsmeade with you this weekend. The whole team will be there, remember?"

"Yes, well no, that's not what I meant. I meant after the team has their butterbeers at The Three Broomsticks. If you'll go with me," he explained further. I almost scoffed at him. I'm his teammate, I knew his games. Quinlan snogged girls in Hogsmeade and then never talked to them again.

"I'm on the team, I know what you do. I'm not going to be some slag you snog in Hogsmeade."

"No, Bel, I mean it. I would like to be your escort at Hogsmeade."

I guffawed. He could not be serious. I mean really, there's no way the same week I kiss Scorpius Malfoy, Quinlan realizes he wants to be in a committed relationship. It was especially hard when he was staring at me like I was chocolate cake he couldn't have. I mean when did I turn into baked goods? Maybe I didn't, I just was hungry all of a sudden and kept comparing Quinlan's looks to those of a very hungry person.

"What do you say?" He asked again with that snake charmer grin and decided I wasn't comparing anything. He was definitely looking at me like I was the pie on the windowsill. I should say no, but considering I wasn't getting offers anywhere else.

"Alright, but if one hand ends up somewhere it shouldn't and I will hex you from Hogsmeade to the Transfiguration classroom," I told him. Considering he saw the brilliant hex I put on Liam after that bloody awful dare, I'm sure it would frighten him. I watched as he nodded his head.

Satisfied, I continued my journey to Gryffindor Tower. I would eventually get over being mad at Liam, but right now I just needed to be angry. If there had been any other Slytherin bloke in the dungeons that morning; I wouldn't be so upset. Alas, it was him and now I really knew what I was missing. I liked it better when I assumed how it was kissing him because I didn't make it nearly as wonderful as it really was.

I threw myself into my bed and fell asleep expecting the onslaught of Scorpius dreams that were sure to come.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Part Three: What in the Bloody Hell Were You Thinking?<strong>_

The Saturday trip to Hogsmeade came a lot quicker than I thought it would. We were sitting in our booth at The Three Broomsticks and Quinlan wrapped his arm around my shoulders. Liam looked at me curiously. I shook my head at him. He didn't get to say anything about my love life after that stupid dare.

"Well Bel, are we done here?" Quinlan asked after like the fourth butterbeer with the team. I nodded my head because I was getting tired of being cramped up against him in the booth. A little personal space was much needed.

"Bel, wait," Liam said as he got up with us.

"I have a date with Quinlan. I can't wait. I'll see you when I get back to the dorm," I dismissed him. He glared at me.

When we were outside, Quinlan took my hand in his. It wasn't that bad. I knew he wasn't Scorpius, but still it was nice to have a bloke take interest in me. I'm so used to all of them thinking I'm one of them.

We stopped at a small park at the end of the lane across from the Hog's Head. It was nice here. I walked toward a bench with Quinlan following. We sat down together and he started playing with a strand of my hair.

"Was this as bad as you thought?" He asked as he continued to twirl the same strand of hair.

"No, it's actually quite nice," I answered honestly.

"Would you mind if I kissed you then?"

Okay, that was a bit of a shock. I didn't expect him to want to kiss me.

"Um, I guess not," I replied. He leaned into my side of the bench, tilted my chin toward him, and started to gently kiss me. It wasn't bad. It didn't compare to my ten minutes with Scorpius, but it wasn't completely horrible.

We snogged for a little bit longer before we both decided it was time to go back to the castle. It was getting late and I needed a bit of time to myself to think.

When I was back in the Common Room, Liam cornered me. I had expected it. After knowing someone since you were in nappies, you tend to know their every move.

"You went out with Quinlan?" He asked impatiently.

"So?"

"What in the bloody hell were you thinking? You are his teammate, you know how he is. Plus, I thought you were in love with someone else?"

That was real rich. I'm so glad he brought that up considering he ruined my chances with that person.

"I was thinking that it was nice to be with a bloke who asked me to be with him. We didn't even snog much, and it's not like I'm his girlfriend," I answered.

"He may be a friend and a teammate, but I still don't think you should trust him when it comes to relationships," were the last words Liam said before walking away from me up the stairs to the boys dorm rooms. I didn't get why he was so angry. He was the one constantly telling me to get over my Scorpius crush and find someone in our House.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Quidditch at Hogwarts  
><strong>

**Part One: Gryffindor Wins and Ravenclaw Falls**

Another week had gone by since I had snogged Scorpius Malfoy and Quinlan McLaggen within three days of each other. James had us practicing four times a week because we were playing Ravenclaw tomorrow. They had won the cup by a landslide last year. Plus, James wanted to knock Richard Macmillan off of his high horse after knowing the bloke shagged his cousin.

"Okay mates, I'll meet you here at ten tomorrow. Get some dinner, get some rest, and we're going beat Ravenclaw!" He ended our Friday afternoon class. We cheered with him even though we were all exhausted. I couldn't wait until the match our skills had really improved flying blindfolded. I was sure we would win.

I finally had forgiven Liam for everything and we walked back to the castle together. Al had caught up to us. All three of us chatted about the match. Al couldn't believe that he had caught the Snitch blindfolded all those times. He expected that because he could hear the Snitch, he had the advantage over the Ravenclaw Seeker.

After dinner, I trudged back to Gryffindor Tower. I was going to read for a while and then I would sleep before the match.

The next morning I woke at eight, met up with Lily at the top of the girls' stairs, and walked to breakfast with the team.

We ate in silence. James looked at us every few moments to make sure we were eating enough, but nothing was said. Every match since I could remember, this is how we ate before it. When Hugo and Lily had made the team the previous year, they had been confused, but just conformed. James liked the quiet before a match.

After some toast and eggs, I was full. I looked at the rest of my teammates. We had forty-five minutes until we started. We stood as one, and began to exit the Great Hall.

"Good luck!" Fred Weasley called out to us. He was the Quidditch commentator and not so subtle about who he wanted to win.

Waking through to the changing rooms, I grabbed my gloves and broom. Lily and I met back up with the rest of the team in the team's common area.

James gave us a few short words of encouragement and then we were at the entrance.

"OUR CUPHOLDERS, THE RAVENCLAWS!" Fred began his announcing, "KEEPER-ELOISE SMITH, CHASERS-RICHARD MACMILLAN, MATTHEW BROWN-DAVIES, AND ARTHUR MONTAGUE, BEATERS-LORCAN AND LYSANDER SCAMANDER, AND SEEKER-HELENA BOOT!"

We watched as the Ravenclaws stepped onto the pitch as they were announced. I noticed the Slytherins cheering for them, but the Hufflepuffs weren't. My assumption was that the Hufflepuffs were still bitter about the slaughter of a match they played against Ravenclaw last year.

"NOW THE GRYFFINDORS! KEEPER-BEL WOOD, CHASERS-QUINLAN MCLAGGEN, JAMES AND LILY POTTER, BEATERS-LIAM FINNEGAN AND HUGO WEASLEY, AND SEEKER AL POTTER!"

The Gryffindors were standing and cheering, but so were the Hufflepuffs. Apparently, Hogwarts was divided over this match. We had stepped onto the pitch as our names were called and now Madam Hooch was having James and Macmillan shake hands.

"I want a clean match," she said as she gestured for us to get in the air. Having a clean match wasn't a given with any of the teams anymore. We all wanted that cup, badly. Quidditch at Hogwart's was different now than in my dad's days. We played twice as many matches, started earlier in the school year.

"AND THEY'RE OFF!" Fred announced as I watched Madam Hooch toss the Quaffle. James excellently retrieved it before Macmillan and headed toward their side of the pitch. I just watched. I needed to be on alert for when it finally came to me.

"IT'S AN HOUR IN FOLKS AND STILL NO SCORE AND NO SIGN OF THE SNITCH," Fred could be heard saying as I watched James take the Quaffle to the hoops for the millionth time this match. "WHILE WE HAVE SOME DOWNTIME HERE, LET ME JUST TELL YOU ABOUT OUR FINE GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH TEAM…sorry Headmistress…IT HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION THAT I'M NOT ALLOWED TO GIVE YOU THE DETAILS ABOUT THE ASTOUNDING TEAM. INSTEAD I MUST TELL YOU THAT RAVENCLAW KEEPER, SMITH, BLOCKED ANOTHER GRYFFINDOR SHOT. WONDERFUL FOR HER…sorry again Headmistress…"

I listened to Fred's commentary while watching as Richard Macmillan sped toward me. He stopped, tossed the Quaffle back to Montague who threw it straight at the left hoop. I anticipated this and immediately flew that way barely blocking the Quaffle with my left hand.

"AND IT SEEMS THE GORGEOUS GRYFFINDOR KEEPER, BEL WOOD, HAS BLOCKED ANOTHER LOUSY RAVENCLAW SHOT…OH WAIT IT SEEMS THAT THERE IS MOVEMENT FROM THE SEEKERS. YES! THEY HAVE SEEN THE SNITCH. POTTER AND BOOT ARE NECK IN NECK IN A DIVE UNDER THE RAVENCLAW GOALS. POTTER STRETCHES, BOOT TRIES TO PUSH HERSELF FORWARD, AND IT'S TOO LATE POTTER CATCHES THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDORS WINS AND RAVENCLAW FALLS!"

* * *

><p><strong>Part Two: What's a Slytherin Like You Doing in a Place Like This?<strong>

We were greeted with shouts of triumph over the Ravenclaw prats when we arrived back at the common room.

"My good friends, let's not crowd the returning warriors. They would like to bathe and then join us for the celebration party!" Fred shouted as everyone crowded around us. He magically parted the ways to the dormitories so that we could go freshen up after the match because no one likes to go to a party dirty.

It only took me a few moments to go upstairs, grab the clothes I wanted to wear, and return to the lavatory. I took a quick shower (not wanting to waste precious party moments) and hastily put myself together. I had denim trousers, a black sleeveless shirt, a plunging V-neck red jumper to go over it, and a silver belt. I thought it was appropriate enough for a party. I was not too fond of super revealing outfits like that slag Honey Brown-Davies would wear. Gross little fifth year she was. It was nice to know her brother (one of the Ravenclaw players we beat today) was her exact opposite.

When I trailed down to the party, I was slightly disappointed to see that it was in full swing. There were more than just Gryffindors in the common room. I could see quite a few Hufflepuffs from where I was standing, including the loathsome Honey. I made a mental note to bloody well avoid her as much as possible. She was insufferable.

"Bel! I have something you want!" Liam shouted, zonked from the alcohol, up to me. I shook my head. That boy was incorrigible when it came to a common room party. His antics didn't stop me from taking the steps two-at-a-time to get to him.

"No truth or dare tonight," I said sternly. Even if the team did end up playing, I was going to conveniently disappear. I was raw from the last incident.

"Of course my sweet Bel, I would never dream of doing that a second time," he slurred and I laughed at him. He was a sloppy drunk, but a very amusing one. We walked to the middle of the common room where everyone had gathered around Al. They were very loudly chanting, "Gryffindor Hero!" To be honest, he was the hero of the match. If he hadn't caught the Snitch we could still be out there playing right now at a stalemate. In talent, Ravenclaw and our team were evenly matched. I hated admitting that, but it was true.

"I'm not really a hero," Al tried protesting with everyone, but they wouldn't listen. He was too modest, much like his dad. I knew Mr. Potter from summer visits to James, Al, and Lily's house along with Harry Potter Week. He was one of the nicest wizards and always telling us that we were capable of anything. The Potter-Weasley clan hated that week because it was awkward having your famous father/uncle teaching your class. I was sure Herbology was Abby Longbottom's most hated subject. Actually, I didn't know that for sure as Abby was a Hufflepuff, and the only times I have spoken to her were when she had been over at the Potter house at the same time I was.

As I was distracted by my thoughts, I drank my entire glass of Firewhiskey. I pushed my way through the crowd to the make-shift bar that Fred was manning.

"Good evening Ms. Wood," Fred greeted cheerily, "You flew superbly. You're a bit of the match's hero too you know?"

He must be drunk. How could I be a hero of the match?

As if reading my thoughts he explained, "Because they took about thirty shots, and if you had let even half of those in because you got tired or worn out, then Al's catch would have meant nothing." When he put it that way, then I guess I was a bit of a hero.

In a daze, at my newfound amazingness, I tried to stroll back over to where Liam was standing with James. I would have been successful, but I collided with someone. When I looked to see who it was it only took me one second to recognize him.

I gave him a lopsided grin and jested, "What's a Slytherin like you doing in a place like this?"

"Evander and I knew that the Gryffindors would be throwing a party, and we could not be happier that you beat Ravenclaw," he drawled with a smirk.

"You're glad we horrible Gryffindors won?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes, the sodding Ravenclaws were getting unbearable in their smugness," Evander Zabini responded before Scorpius could. I nodded my head. The Ravenclaws had gotten to be insufferable about their victory. They were almost as bad as the Slytherins.

"Wood! What are you doing over there with them? You should be here for a team picture!" Quinlan shouted over to me and I nearly hexed him.

"You should go. Maybe I'll be seeing you around," Scorpius mentioned before walking toward some of Lily's friends.

I was going to hex Quinlan.

* * *

><p><strong>Part Three: McLaggen, Follow Me<br>**

I woke up at noon the next day. My head throbbed and I knew I would be visiting Lorcan Scamander for some potion later. Right now I had to shower, get dressed, and go kill Quinlan. He obviously did not know about my crush on Scorpius Malfoy, but that didn't mean he got to pull me away from him during a party.

When I had finished showering, I put on some denim trousers and a black polo. I threw on some black running shoes, put my wand in my trousers pocket and went to find Quinlan. I was the last of the team to join the common room. We all looked miserably tired. Even Lily, who took care getting dressed, was just in a purple t-shirt and denim.

"McLaggen, follow me," I ordered in a venomous voice. Liam shot me a questioning look but I shook my head. I would not be deterred from this mission. Quinlan stood and followed me out of the common room. I walked to the first abandoned classroom I could find and yanked him in it.

Quinlan mistook this as permission to kiss me and even tried to do so.

"What the bloody hell!" I yelled at him as I pushed him off of me.

"What's the problem Bel? I thought we were snogging now. I mean we went to Hogsmeade together," he explained rapidly.

Oh shite, I forgot when I was talking to Scorpius that Quinlan and I had snogged and gone

to Hogsmeade together. What was I going to do? I guess I could like Quinlan, if I gave him a chance, but I talked to Scorpius last night! It wasn't just about Quidditch. Well actually it was, but it was a fun conversation and not a mean one where I said we were going to beat their sorry Slytherin arses while secretly being in love with him. I should give Quinlan a chance and just hope this didn't turn out to be like any of the other girls.

Quinlan was staring at me. I hadn't spoken during the entire time I was thinking about Scorpius and him.

"You're right," I answered, "But, I don't just want to snog all the time. We talked about how I'm not one of those other cows who attach their faces to you."

He smiled, "I agree. Why don't we go for a walk around the lake? It's not as chilly out today as it was yesterday." I smiled. If this was the pleasant non-friend, non-jerk side of Quinlan, then I may just like it.

After spending most of the day with Quinlan outside, I moseyed back up to the castle. We actually had a lovely time. We talked about our families, likes, dislikes, and anything really. It was almost like a real date. I had been charmed by him without knowing it was possible.

When I reached the Great Hall for dinner, Liam was waiting with an empty seat. This was going to be hard. He had made it quite clear that he thought it was dumb of me to date Quinlan, but I didn't care.

"What was that all about?" He asked as I sat down. I kept my eyes on the golden plates of food.

"Annabel Lydia Wood," he scolded as he forced me to face him.

"I don't know. I originally was going to yell at him for interrupting my time with Scorpius last night, but then he reminded me that we had went to Hogsmeade together. I thought about it, and Scorpius is never going to like me. I just need to get over it, and maybe dating Quinlan will help that," I explained to him. He raised an eyebrow at me. I sighed, "Don't look at me like that. I'm not saying that Quinlan and I are going to get married. I'm just saying that I might like spending time with him."

"Bel, it's a bad idea, but it's your choice," he finished. I knew he was upset with me. I didn't know what else to say. He had been telling me for three years to get over my Scorpius Malfoy crush, and now that I was actually trying he seemed to be against it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: Hogwarts Gets a Holiday Surprise**

_**Part One: Rose Weasley Is a Selfish Cow**_

The weeks passed by with my time spread out between three blokes in three ways. I spent time with Liam doing what we have always done as best mates, but then I also had been spending time with Quinlan as my boyfriend and Scorpius as another friend. It had been a shocker when he had come up to me a couple days after the party to ask if we could spend time together just as friends. It wasn't the profession of undying love that I had been looking for, but I had already known that wasn't going to happen.

I walked the corridors with Liam now and listened as he told me for the hundredth time that Quinlan was a bad idea.

"Bel, mate, I love you, but you're daft sometimes. Anything with Quinlan McLaggen is going to end very badly. You're his teammate for Merlin's sake! You know how he treats birds," he said, again for the hundredth time.

I sighed and then because I just couldn't take any more of his constant criticism about my relationship, I snapped, "What do you want Liam? You've been telling me for three years to get over Scorpius Malfoy and date a Gryffindor! Well now that's what I'm doing and you're bloody upset about it!" The words had come out meaner than I had expected, but I was really upset.

"I always told you that because Scorpius seemed to be in love with Rose Weasley and I wanted you to be happy, but now he's available and talking to you. Don't ruin all this hard work," Liam said as he stomped away. What the bloody hell did he mean all this hard work? Ugh, I did not have time for a moody best friend.

"Well, well, if it isn't the little Gryffindor that stole my boyfriend?" I heard a voice ask from behind me. I whipped around to notice Rose Weasley staring at me venomously.

"I didn't steal anything. Scorpius and I are just friends."

Rose shook her head with a bit of malicious laughter, "Don't lie to me. I've seen you stare at him. You fancy him and I'm here to tell you that you need to stay away. We're just going through a transition."

"Hell of a transition, cheating on him?" I asked with a bit of my own sarcastic flare.

"Just back off, you little bint! He won't be interested in you anyway. You're petit and tough. Scorpius likes girls that are taller and more fragile. Girls he can protect, not Quidditch players that he can push around in the air," she said before sending a silent jelly legs jinx at me. I didn't hesitate to throw a bat-bogey hex at her. I was glad Lily had taught me that one-powerful little fifth year that she was. "Why you little slag!" She screamed as bat bogeys flew violently out of her nose. My legs may have been jelly, but watching her face in horror was incomparable.

A few moments went by before Quinlan found us like that.

"I have been looking all over for you," he said as he rushed up to me saying the counter-curse to my jinx. He shared a weird look with Rose and then took my arm and walked with me up to the Great Hall for dinner.

"Thanks," I said with a kiss to his cheek.

"You're welcome, but where was Finnegan? I thought you were spending time with him. Probably talking about how good-looking your boyfriend is no doubt," Quinlan joked with a big smile.

I shook my head and answered, "We got into a fight. He stomped off on me."

"Well I was there. No need to worry," he replied as he put an arm around my waist. I felt bad because it was sweet moments like this that I compared Quinlan's touches to the one snog session I had managed to have with Scorpius. Quinlan's were nice, but Scorpius' were better.

As we took our seats at the Gryffindor table, Rose entered the Great Hall looking a bit harried. She shot me a look that would have made a second year cry.

"What was that all about?" Liam asked when he appeared next to me. There was a slight scowl on his face as he looked at Quinlan on my other side, but he focused on my answer.

"Rose Weasley is a selfish cow," I replied and then elaborated, "She's upset that Scorpius and I are friends. She thinks that I'm off stealing her ex-boyfriend. Definitely not the case since I have a boyfriend of my own." I gave Quinlan's hand a squeeze for good measure. He didn't need to know that he was my consolation prize for not actually dating Scorpius.

He looked at me quizzically though, "You're friends with Malfoy? I didn't know that." I didn't want this to turn into some testosterone battle so I just nodded and tried to act like it didn't really matter. I mean at this point, it didn't. Scorpius would never date me and that was final.

"Yeah, we do Charms work together sometimes. He's brilliant at it," I said nonchalantly.

_**Part Two: McGonagall Has Got to Be Mental**_

"Bel," Quinlan almost whined as I pushed him toward the portrait door. I had stopped some snogging to go down to dinner. I had heard from some of the prefects that McGonagall was making an important announcement at dinner tonight. Quinlan's physical needs would just have to wait. Plus, I wasn't feeling to into the activity right now anyway. Liam's constant pestering about how I was daft was getting to me. Slowly, I was starting to see his point. A lot of our alone time was spent snogging and not doing much else.

As we left the common room, I mentioned, "You'll get over it. McGonagall is announcing something tonight and I'm not going to miss it. Also, I'm hungry."

He rolled his eyes at me, but followed me down to the Great Hall. We took our places at the Gryffindor table. Liam looked over at me with a bit of mocking, but I ignored it. He would get over his aversion to Quinlan eventually. At least, I hoped he would.

Dinner appeared before us just as it always did. There was shepherd's pie, pasties, and a few other things to choose. I took some pasties and began to eat happily. I wondered when McGonagall was going to let us know about whatever it was the prefects had been whispering about since their meeting last night.

When dessert had appeared on the golden platters in front of us, McGonagall stood at the podium in front of the staff table. "Good evening students. I have an important announcement to make. This year, to further our tolerance and inter-House unity, we will be having a Halloween Ball. However, unlike our previous balls, this one will be very special. No one will be attending this ball with dates. Instead, you will receive masks at the door as you enter by house. These masks will be enchanted so that you will not be able to tell one another apart. It will be a night for you to get to know your classmates."

The whole room stayed completely silent wondering if McGonagall had finally gone nutters. I assumed it was the trauma from the second war finally rearing its ugly head. I think most of it was summed up when Lily Potter leaned over the table to me and said, "McGonagall has got to be mental! I mean, what if I end up dancing with Flint?"

Oh for Merlin's sake, I hadn't even thought about dancing with unknown people. "And don't try to designate yourself. The masks charms will counter anything you try to do," McGonagall added. I sighed. That would have been my idea.

"This whole ball is about just knowing the people in your school. Just as long as you show up in dress robes, the mask will do the rest," she finished. The whole table shook their head. We get a ball, but it gets all these stipulations… bloody unfair! McGonagall sat back down; we finished our desserts and started toward the doors for Gryffindor tower.

Quinlan immediately started calling McGonagall an old bat and sputtering about how she was ruining our school years. "I mean really. How can she bloody well expect us to not go with our girlfriends? You should be madder about this Wood," he said as he walked a few steps behind me talking to James. Yes, I wasn't happy about the idea, but I felt I had to defend our Headmistress. She was just trying to make sure that isolation and blood purism didn't occur again. The last time it had occurred, our world was devastated with loss. My dad tells me all the time about Fred Weasley, an old teammate of his that died in the war. My dad was very fond of James and Al's twin uncles and was very saddened to see Fred die. To this day, he was still close with the Potter-Weasley clan.

"Give it a rest Quinlan. She's just trying to do her best to make sure no one is ever isolated again. No one wants to suffer through what our parents suffered through," I snapped at him. Liam looked over at me and nodded. I could tell he was glad that I finally showed a bit of annoyance at Quinlan's one-track mind. Life wasn't just about snogging or even just Quidditch (which was even hard for me to believe), but the devastation in our world's past proved it. Oliver Wood may be a famous Quidditch Keeper for Puddlemere now, but he had to suffer through a battle and the deaths of friends to get there. They weren't the only things in the world.

He looked at me with a bit of anger, but just muttered, "Yeah, fine."

_**Part Three: I'm So Glad You Kissed a Slytherin**_

Quinlan wandered off upset after I told him off and Liam tried to make me feel better, "He'll be fine Bels. His big thing is being able to snog you in front of the whole school."

I scoffed at him. "I'm no Dominique Weasley." It was true. Dominique Weasley, one of the four Weasley girls that didn't spend a whole lot of time with their family (much like Rose), was the most beautiful girl in the school. She had long strawberry blonde hair, a wicked body, and a part-time modeling job with Witch Weekly's advertisers.

"No, but blokes want you just the same," he admitted as he pointed to Scorpius that was headed our way. I brightened immediately. I hadn't seen him since Quinlan asked about our friendship.

He came up to me with a smile, "Haven't seen you for Charms homework in a while. Had a feeling you didn't need me anymore?" I shook my head. I definitely needed him, no matter if I had to start failing every subject to keep him around. Not that I was failing Charms, I just liked having his help for some of the wand-work. He had it all down so delicately.

I felt Liam push me forward. "No, actually I have some time now, but not any Charms work. Want to just go for a walk? The whole common room is going to be buzzing about McGonagall's announcement and I don't care to join them," I asked him. He nodded and gestured for me to walk with him. I did so almost giddily.

Even though I had just said I didn't want to deal with everyone talking about the announcement, I still had to see what he thought about it. "What do you think about this ball?"

"I thought you didn't want to deal with it?" His eyebrow raised with a bit of the Malfoy smirk I've heard about from James' family.

"Well I don't with my housemates, but I do wonder what you think. I don't live with you like I do them," I cheekily responded.

He continued forward and thought about his answer, "I think it's a great idea. My only fear is I'll end up spending the whole night with Rose, but I know a lot about her to know what she would say. I would just walk away and talk to someone else."

I agreed with him. He had told me over a table in the library about how he had never really loved Rose even though he tried desperately to do so. He just always knew that there was something about her to not commit. Now Scorpius knew that it was because she liked to be dramatic when she wanted attention.

We walked on in silence after that. It was comfortable. We didn't have to talk, snog, or do anything really to just be contented in one another's company. As we started wandering down to the dungeons, my arms automatically folded to keep warm. The drafts down here always got to me.

"Are you cold?" Scorpius asked as he noticed that I was hugging myself.

"A little, when I know I'm coming down here I usually bring my jumper."

He took off his jumper and handed it to me. I tried to protest but he insisted, "Come on Bel, I led us down here without really thinking. I'm used to the temperature so it's fine." I took the jumper from him and threw it over my head. It smelled like him- a mixture of fancy cologne and something that was only Scorpius.

A few moments went by and finally he said, "Great story about this corridor, one morning I went up to the Great Hall a little later than normal. And, because of that, a beautiful Gryffindor ended up snogging with me."

I laughed at him. "I don't really think she was that beautiful." He raised his eyebrow at me in defense.

"Sure she was. Here, I'll prove how much I thought so," he said as he lowered his head to mine. I knew what was coming before he even lifted a hand to hold the back of my neck steady. His fingers wound their way into the hair that was loosely hanging from the bun I had it in. My lips met his in anticipation. He tasted like spices and mint, a combination that was intoxicating. He pushed her slightly back and I was back up against the same wall as previously.

This time, we kissed slowly. He left my lips to nip and peck sweetly at my jawline. I felt warm and full of tingles, and my hands went under his collared shirt around to his back. We continued to kiss as if letting go of each other would break us.

We broke apart and mirrored the way we looked after the first time we snogged. "Convinced?" He asked with a smirk. I could only take in a few breaths as I thought about what led us to that display.

"Would I be bruising that Malfoy ego if I said no?"

"Probably, but you're not going to say no," he said as his smirk got bigger.

"You're an insufferable git," I said as I lightly hit him on the arm. I couldn't get over how easy it was to go back to being playful with him after such a heated moment.

Once it got closer to curfew, Scorpius walked me back up to the Great Hall doors and I wandered back to Gryffindor tower. I had a big smile on my face. The Fat Lady looked expectantly at me, and I uttered the password for her to swing open. I stepped through and Liam was sitting in one of the squashy chairs waiting for me.

"Someone looks awfully bloody happy," Liam snarked with a grin.

"Shove off and don't ruin it for me!"

"I'm not trying to ruin it for you. I'm so glad you kissed a Slytherin. Now you can break-up with McLaggen before something bad happens with his stupid arse."

Oh, shite, that was right. I was dating Quinlan. Apparently, now I was a cheater.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: Hogwarts Is Never Drama-Free**

_**Part One: Noteworthy News in Hogwarts**_

"Really Bel? And you told me that I was the one using birds," Quinlan barked after I told him we were done. He was not taking it well. I don't know what his problem was. Several girls from our house alone, would kill to date him.

He continued his tirade for another five minutes before Liam came to save me. "Quin, mate, you knew this wasn't for-life. You're much more suited to the bachelor life-style," my best friend explained to my now ex-boyfriend. He took me by the arm and dragged me away from McLaggen.

"What was that all about?" I asked Liam once we left through the portrait hole.

"Malfoy is on the Pitch for practice. Go," Liam said as he pushed me toward the castle doors. I had just broken up with a bloke, wouldn't it be suspicious that I was suddenly hanging out with another? I could pass it off as just checking what the competition was doing.

I entered the stands in the Pitch. Scorpius was up in the air with his team. He looked great. The snitch darted around so at first he hadn't noticed me join the lot of people watching the practice. There was a gaggle of Ravenclaws, a couple of Hufflepuffs, and me.

Scorpius did a dive near the stands where I sat. He noticed me for the first time. There was a quick wink from him before he pulled out of the move and headed to the east end of the Pitch. A few moments later he was holding the Snitch. I rolled my eyes at his victory lap. Only Scorpius could be so arrogant and down-to-earth at the same time.

"Malfoy, stop trying to impress that bloody Gryffindor!" I heard one of his teammates shout.

"I'm captain of the team. I can do whatever I want," he shouted back. He glanced back at me once before announcing, "Practice over!" The rest of the team headed toward the ground, but Scorpius headed over to me. "Well pretty little Gryffindor, what are you doing out here?"

"Gathering up your team's secrets to take back to Gryffindor," I answered cheekily. I wasn't going to let him know that I had broken up with my snogging mate in order to date him.

Scorpius pouted a bit, "And here I thought it was because you thought I was a handsome bloke."

"That Malfoy ego at work again," I jested.

He smirked and then held out a hand to me, "Join me for a ride?"

_How could I say no to that? _ I thought to myself. "Okay." He lowered enough for me to join him on the broom. We took off as fast as he could toward the other end of the Pitch. I didn't know what was more exhilarating, that I was flying through the Pitch or that I was with Scorpius. If Liam were here, then he'd say it was the second part.

We landed about forty-five minutes later. "Curfew should be starting soon," he mentioned as he looked up at the darkened sky. I reluctantly nodded and followed him toward the castle. In the corridor before the Great Hall, we said our goodbyes. He leaned into me and we kissed as passionately as we had the first two times. "Good night little Gryffindor," Scorpius said as he pulled away and began to walk to the dungeons.

The next morning I was awoken by my roommates giggling and whispering. I wondered what all the fuss was about so I pulled back the curtain to my four poster to join them. There, Morgan Thomas and the others were looking at the newest edition of Honey's school paper. When I looked closer, there were pictures of me kissing Scorpius and the headline: _Noteworthy News in Hogwarts_. I pulled the paper from their hands and started to skim through the article. It talked about how I was the new Malfoy girlfriend. Merlin's pants! I was going to hex Honey into the next century.

"Is it true?" Morgan asked as I through a jumper over my head.

I shook my head at her, "It's really no one's bloody business." I pulled denim trousers over my hips and headed down toward the portrait hole.

Once I made it to the Great Hall, it didn't take long to find the little gossip columnist. She was in the middle of a gaggle of girls gloating over her best-selling Hogwarts Weekly. "Honey! You and I are going to have it out right here. Where did you get the bloody idea that it was okay to put my life in your shite newspaper?!"

"Well it was the perfect follow-up piece to his break-up with Rose," she smarted with a smile. I could have slapped it off easily, but the gathering of professors deterred me.

Professor Longbottom looked between us, "Ladies, my office now." We followed obediently. A few minutes later when we were only ten meters from the greenhouses, he gestured us into his office. "What is this all about?" The question was a formality as he held a Hogwarts Weekly in his hand. Professor Longbottom knew exactly what this was all about. I just hope he didn't intend on telling my father about the article. I'm bloody certain he would kill me if he saw it.

"She put a bloody article about my life in her stupid newspaper," I shouted angrily.

Honey stuck her nose up, "I'm a journalist."

Professor Longbottom shook his head at her. "Ms. Brown-Davies, you know the difference between journalism and gossip. This article is definitely the latter and so was the piece about this young man's break-up from Rose Weasley. I do not want to see articles like this in the newspaper anymore or I will be talking to your Head of House to remove the paper from your control."

With that said, Honey nodded with a scowl. He dismissed her. Then the professor looked at me with a long meaningful gaze.

"What?" I asked.

"Annabel, this will upset your father," he said to me. I nodded. It definitely would upset the great Oliver Wood. "Just make sure you tell him before something like this tells him for you." He let me leave soon after that chat.

As much as I hated to admit it, Professor Longbottom was right. I couldn't let Dad find out about this from some other source. I hurried back to the dormitory to send him a letter. I would ask him to come to the next Quidditch match and tell him then.

* * *

><p><em>Part Two: My Dad Is Going to Bludger Me to Death<em>

I sent my dad the letter and got a response two days later about how he would be able to make the upcoming match versus Slytherin.

"How did your day go today?" Liam asked. I had been really angry with that bloody newspaper article that Honey had written. I stomped around the castle for those two days, but the anger was finally wearing. I nodded to him as I sat down at the Gryffindor table. He would know that meant I wasn't going to bite anyone's head off anymore. "Good because your green and silver clad prince left this with me," Liam said as he handed me a piece of parchment paper.

_**Really sorry Brown-Davies got those pictures of us somehow. I hope you're feeling better today. I'd like to spend time with you before we have to be sworn enemies in the name of Quidditch.**_

_**-SHM**_

He would sign his initials with his middle… so pretentious those Malfoys, but alas, how much I adored this one. I quickly scribbled a _**Meet me at the Black Lake**_ on the back of the parchment and blew it over to his table. When it fell in front of him, Scorpius looked up and grinned at me. I watched as he unfolded the note and then nodded toward me. After the nod he gave a bit of a scowl. I wondered what was wrong.

I glanced behind me. I was so absorbed in what was going on with Scorpius reading the note that I hadn't noticed Rose. "Yes?" I asked her cheekily.

"I recall some cow telling me that she wasn't stealing my boyfriend," she snarled.

I shook my head, "And at the time, I wasn't stealing your boyfriend. Now get over yourself and go find Macmillan." I didn't need to listen to her. Standing to tell her that I was done with this conversation, I walked over to the Great Hall doors. I had a date at the Black Lake.

The water was calm today which meant that the creatures that lived beneath the surface were further into the lake's depths. Mr. Potter had told us about his Tri-Wizard Tournament task where he had to rescue his friends from the lake. The story always had me sitting several meters back from the lake. I didn't want to meet any of those things.

Trees lined the lake, so I chose one to sit down and lean against. Hogwarts had beautiful grounds. I would miss it at the end of next school year when I finally graduated.

"Hey," Scorp greeted as he sat down next to me. He grabbed my hand. "What happened with Rose? I couldn't hear from where I was sitting."

"The usual, I stole you. Never mind the fact that you bloody well don't want her anymore. No, I stole you from her," I answered with ice in my voice.

Scorp ran a thumb across my palm, "Don't listen to her. Rose is a little self-absorbed. She has a tendency to think everything is about her."

I smiled at his words and leaned in to kiss him.

"Annabel?" A deep, very Scottish, and very familiar voice asked.

I pulled back from Scorpius with wide eyes, "Da?"

"When you're done snogging young Mr. Malfoy will you meet me in Professor Longbottom's office?" He asked in a voice that implied he was not happy about what he just saw.

Dad walked away and Scorpius gave me a quizzical look, "That didn't look good."

"That's because it wasn't. My dad is going to bludger me to death," I replied seriously, "I… I have to go. I'll see you at the match tomorrow. That is if I live that long."

I definitely was not happy to be leaving him at the lake, but it had to be done. The longer I made my dad wait, the worse it was going to be for me. Entering the castle felt a bit like walking to the gallows. Professor Longbottom had just warned me to tell my father. I even intended to, after the match.

At the Professor's door, I knocked. He opened the door and shook his head. That boded well for me…

* * *

><p><em>Part Three: You're Lying to Me Right Now, Right?<em>

After a really long talk from my father about how the Malfoys were utter shite, I was sent back to my dorm. When I got there, Liam was waiting in one of the squashy chairs for me.

"Scorpius told me," he said with a shrug. I could swoon. How could you not bloody well adore a boy who went to your best friend when he knew you were in trouble? Especially when said boy knew that he was unable to be there to support you. Bel could easily fall in love with him-if she didn't already.

"My da gave me a nice long lecture about the evils of the Malfoys. I'm allowed to make my own choices, but not that one," I told him.

He came over and gave me a hug, "No, you wouldn't be, at least not yet. Don't worry about it. Malfoy's a good bloke. Your da will eventually see that."

I shook my head. When had he become such a Scorpius Malfoy supporter?

"What? You're my best mate. If Malfoy makes you happy, then I want you to have Malfoy," he told me. I smiled then. That was nice. I knew that he wasn't actually into blokes, but sometimes, he said things that made me wonder. "And, you know, if I wanted you to try and get Lily Potter to go with me to Hogsmeade without the rest of the team… I'd appreciate it." And then he said things like that and I knew that the reason we weren't attracted to one another was that we felt like siblings. I let out a little laugh.

"I can try, out of the goodness of my heart," I told him, "Now let's head to bed. We've got a Quidditch match tomorrow."

I woke the next morning, pulled back the curtain on my four poster, and immediately began to rifle through my Quidditch gear. Lily and I were the only ones moving. Quidditch should not be this early…

"Ready?" The redhead asked me and I nodded. We descended the girls' dormitory steps to the common room. The rest of the team was waiting for us. Liam gave me a nod, James, Al, and Hugo shot me a thumbs up each, and then McLaggen gave me a very sour look. I hoped that our break-up wouldn't cause him to be an arse with Quidditch.

"Hey Potter, she's dating the enemy now, do you think she should be out there?" He asked and my hopes were shattered.

James narrowed his eyes at Quinlan, "She'll do her responsibility as Keeper. Wood would never sacrifice Quidditch for anyone."

It was nice to know that I didn't have to prove that to my captain. I nodded a quick thanks to him and then we went off to breakfast and then before match practice. Scorpius and I had already talked about how we would ignore each other today. This way when whichever team won, the losing team member's teammates couldn't say that they threw the match in the name of dating.

"AFTER SUCH A DEFEAT, SOME OF US MAY BE WONDERING IF CAPTAIN MALFOY DID IT…sorry Headmistress," she heard Fred announce at the end of the game. Oh when I got my hands on that Weasley…

I descended and headed into the changing rooms. In a fresh Gryffindor tee and denim trousers, I started to walk back to the castle with the team. I grinned a bit when I heard James telling McLaggen that he was a right foul arse for ever thinking I would throw a game.

"Annabel," I heard my father say from behind me. At least this time he wasn't sneaking up on a snogging session with Scorp.

"I'll catch up with you guys later," I said to the team. I ran over to my dad and he gave me a big congratulatory hug.

"You did a great job out there," he said. I thanked him. His approval in Quidditch meant a lot. Especially because he was a Puddlemere United team member. "I wanted to take you to dinner in Hogsmeade. I have already spoken to McGonagall about it and gotten permission."

I couldn't really say no to my dad so I just nodded. I was surely missing the common room party, but I had no choice.

Dad walked me to the portrait hole and then went a different way. I quickly recited the password to the Fat Lady, letting her open, and walked into a scene I hadn't expected. Al was holding Liam back from… McLaggen. McLaggen, who already had a black eye, was being restrained by James.

"What's going on here?"

"McLaggen just admitted that he was only dating you because Rose Weasley gave him three galleons a day to do so," Liam answered.

"You're lying to me right now, right?" I asked him in shock. When I checked James and Al's faces, I could see the shame in them for their fellow teammate and for their cousin. And then I knew it was true.


End file.
